The Second Amazon: The Hidden Natural Wonder Under Threat in PNG | Foreign Correspondent
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- Опубліковано 8 бер 2023
- On Australia’s northern doorstep lies one of the most extraordinary places on earth - some environmentalists call it the second Amazon. The Sepik River Basin in Papua New Guinea is a natural wonder and home to rich and ancient cultures. Subscribe: ab.co/3yqPOZ5
It’s a place few outsiders ever get to see. For some time, PNG correspondent Natalie Whiting has been hearing rumours about what’s going on in the remote areas upriver - claims of a logging land grab, police brutality, even killings. She undertakes the journey far up the Sepik River to see for herself what’s happening.
In the rainforest of the Upper Sepik a community is divided. Logging operations and a proposed massive mine site bring hope of economic prosperity for some. But others fear development of the land by international companies means environmental destruction with little benefit. PNG is the world’s largest exporter of tropical round logs but out of sight in the Sepik region some landowners say the logging is happening without proper consent and there are consequences for those who stand in the way. With a long history of mistrust of big corporations and the promises they make, many of the locals are angry and ready to do whatever it takes to preserve some of the most unspoilt rainforests and waterways on the planet.
Read more here: ab.co/3Jr8kWE
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The guy at the end was so right... what they have there is a truly healthy economics, not the kind that treats nature, the environment, society, culture, community, the commons, as 'externalities', which get ignored. It was tragic hearing the woman talk about catching a bus to go shopping as worth the price of the loss of their healthy way of living. As a westerner I would say to her don't make the mistake we have made.
Correct. After 48 years of Independence catching a bus to town is far, far from the truth. Our forests are depleted but landowners shared only 7% from the sale distributed among 2000 + families which translates to ~ k50/person but the environment damage lasts a lifetime and a generational disaster. I'm a landowner myself and logging in our area did change our lives but for the worse. All our good Kwila and other hardwood are taken now we have to look for steel posts to build our homes and they are expensive and unaffordable.
Thank you for this documentary. Aussie born but raised in PNG. Still with strong connections.
❤️
We love you Papuans big love from Mama AFRICA
The last frontier. This is shocking and terribly distressing for the land and its people. As if a mega dam made of concrete between two enormous mountains, could withstand an earthquake. Shame on the dollar and greedy people.
I've been to PNG! amazing people! but the government has to go!!!
All nation-state govts have to go...
@@snowstrobe you are talking about previous gov this current gov is trying its best and things are happening aus tax payers have to ask what ever happened to the $500 million to manage the manus detention one person in png has the answer to that question think you know mr oneil this doc has another slime bag filth involved belldon nama is power hungry has links with the oneil gov they are basicly untouchables who pretend to work for the people of png
Excellent & balanced reporting. Well done, it’s a rare thing to see in modern media. Beautifully filmed also.
Sepik we a blessed with the best tropical forest.... Thank you papa God☺️🙌🙏
Thank you for the document 👏
Respect the Mighty Sepik. Let the riches of Frieda river sleep in its natural bed untouched. They belong to where they are. Let the Sepik Flow. Let the 50,000 years of culture and history continue for the sake of our children and the sake of humanity.
Big corporations destroy everywhere. The people are strong and brave Wish them every success.Thank you
I'm starting to believe that this world is UNSAVEABLE...
Yeah I wonder why.. 😐
Thank you for doing this. So much is at stake for our Sepik River People. ❤🖤💛
Great documentary, well filmed.
Arm yourself and protect your property. Maski lo larim police na Government Kam na lo controlim life blo yupla. Stap strong 💪 na defenim rights blo yupla. Better say no to mining and logging. Environment pollution is hurting everyone worldwide.
Thank you for the documentary. To Thelma Gunga and Natalie Whiting I hope you have learnt alot about the company and its operation. The landowners deserve nothing but better services if this logging company can provide to the entire village.
Natalie Whiting can communicate in Pidgin language and that's wonderful too 👍🙏
No, they need to be left alone.
The loggers don't care about the people and It's the government's responsibility to provide basic services.. They're afraid of policeman with guns that's why they are giving logs away cheaply..
Thank you Natalie and Thecla for this wonderful informative documentary. We all should keep sharing so many of US PNG people know what is going on in our own home.
Sad truth is Malaysia / China mining and deforestation is killing this country.
Please Emanuel Peni, don't stop fighting for the Sepik River❤
K150k fortnight for trees that he could make K1million for in Port Moresby. From Kamusi, to Yellow River to Sandaun, noone representing our rights.
Great documentary, well made and well researched.
Yes, the company obtained “legal consent” but their rubber and palm oil nurseries were burned down by locals. Clearly and obviously, there is no consent on the ground! It’s willfully ignorant on the part of the company to continue their operations when it’s clear consent did not come from those affected by their activities. Absolutely infuriating!
Stay strong and keep fighting our beautiful people.🇵🇬❤️
Congratuations Helen Davidson and team and all the traditional landowners of the PNG for this exposé on logging, mining and damming along the Sepik River. Matilda Pinga is right to call the river a mother. These rivers are the arteries of our earth. Does anyone remember the BHP-Vale dam-bust in Samarco? or the ongoing devastation of the Amazon basin forests? Corrupt practice that does not value the real economy of scarcity (Herman Daly) will be our ruin. I hope we wake up in time.
you bring up bhp but let me remind you of the bougainville crisis it is now a permanent environmental disaster not to mention fly river also and possible others in png oz companies has a bad record the problem with mining or timber resources companies is to get the resources asap out and get out at any cost because they can bribe their way out the new png gov is not perfect but is doing afew things to change that speaking of disasters bougainville isle has paid a higher price as result of rio tinto sending choppers to shutdown any resistance you can say pngs vietnam
australian indigenous get a more better deal than png in regards to royalties and benefits as i have lived inthe pilbara region of wa righting the wrongs of past is impossible now damages have been done
Timely documentary. Thank you.
Thank you for this documentary. I have seen and known it all. From the Bougainville copper mine (BCL) in my childhood and Foreign loggers in my Father's village in Manus Province just in recent past in 2020. Nothing good comes out of these, all just destruction of livelihood and environment. The promotion of sustainable use of aquatic resources and the environment is thrown out of the window, and PNG is not prepared for these kinds of activities or so-called developments. Our government should focus more on what we know best for generations. Work and toil the land for upgraded farming before diving into the land and seabeds for non-renewable resources.
Thank you for sharing this documentary. I had never heard of the logging company, but for them to use these people the way they have, to use police as their bullies, to sign away peoples land especially when it's not theirs and to use a "loophole" to do their logging while stealing from the people living there by not doing as stated in the illegally gained contracts and then mining never does the land around it any good. There is always waste from the mines. Where will that go? Looks like the river providing for people will be the dumping grounds killing wildlife as well as people. We have enough. We don't need to keep logging like this. Paper can be made from bamboo which is fast growing. Cutting down trees while not planting any trees to replace them is just plain wrong. More people need to see this video.
I dropped a tear(s) for the mighty sepik river, the people and the environment. PLEASE JUST LET IT BE..Its Paradise on earth. (Ps..I would lead and go the next level (arms) if it this was in my local community/area)
You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.
There's oil mining in my province in png.... The Landowners get 0.1% as royalty/ equity... rest is shared between the government and developer.... no life changing wealth....
Those final words were most poignant ... they HAVE paradise right now. It shouldn't be squandered for foreign profits. Selective logging straight into the Australian timber market would net 20 times the price and still be cheap for Australian wood workers. As for mining ... few (if any) mining companies can lie straight in bed, terrible performance, terrible outcomes, almost zero accountability here, there, or anywhere. $0.02
These corporate men of destruction cannot leave anything alone. These land owners will stop them, they have to. We need this share , to gather signatures and partition on behalf of PNG, they are family. this is just continued unfettered corporate greed, people are just in their way. GO PNG KICK THEM OUT, I'D LIKE TO SEE THEM TRY THE SOUTH SENTIENT ISLAND, Really.
Thank you for documenting
That is the river I was taught how to swim. Croc infested river but my swim teachers were the best in the world. My uncles taught me to swim, fish and hunt. The mighty Missisepik river gateway to paradise.
that makes me soo sad! what beautiful rainforest, i would love to go there.
THOSE LOGGERS CAN TAKE A FLYING DUCK!
5:05 technically anywhere in the country, you can get away with anything. Police often go out and get drunk and dont really care about their jobs. Most people have to rely on private security companies like Guard Dog (a big security company here).
Very big problem with logging and mining in PNG. Government is the culprit in the destruction of people's lives as landowners (referred to as occupiers under law) only can be compensated at minimal return eg. 7%, shared between 2000 + people, provincial govt gets 20% and the national govt gets 23% and company gets the rest (50%) for destroying the forests/environment and making a profit that is transferred off shore. That's the kind of scenario we see throughout the country. After years of logging and mining people become poorer and in much worse situation because their environment and livelihood are destroyed. But there's no improved lifestyle or public services in such places. Govts and co. get a large chunk of the deal and land occupiers (owners) receive practically nothing! Govt is the culprit in these kinds of deals! There needs to be policies and legislative changes made to give the rights of Customary Lands back to landowners (remove the term occupiers, a colonial paradigm) so benefits can flow directly back to the people, and people are empowered to say no , if they feel the benefits are insufficient to improve their living standards.
thanks for the documentary, PNG born and raised ❤
Finally it’s actually not 2 am when I come across something like this lol
Thank you Nattalie and your team for this documentary. It paints a small picture to the world of the challenges of development and sustainability of the environment of the Mighty Sepik River and its tributaries. I sympathize with the villagers of Frieda and their dreams of a new modern life like the white men and want the Frieda Mine operate, but the communities down are worried about the waste of the mine that will surely pollute the river given the area is subject to earthquakes which could affect any damming done to the mine waste.
It's a precarious situation that needed careful deliberation by all parties concerned.
Rabaul Gurias cap OK 🔥🌋
Very well done.
Beautiful documentry
Authure, mangi NARI 10 mile lae. Proud of you bro
Is there a way we can help or a link to donate?
looks like an amazing area. what is the bird in the beginning (black with that vibrant blue part)?
This documentary highlights the real challenges across many developing countries where locals fell victims to greedy companies in the name of so call development.
Don't have to build a dam. They can place turbine generators in the river that doesn't harm the fish and still generate power.
Well done!!
Thank you for this .......in my opinion there are so many other sustainable and environmentally friendly ways to produce power and create opportunities for our people in PNG.......Hydro and logging projects are for lazy people who want fast money and an easy life...........Please stop this non sense......we're rich nation already without the need for Money........
Fantastic job. Really
I belongs to these province in PAPUA NEW GENIU but know we don't fight to much but I live up in the Highlands Reagan it's quit nice to 🙂
What is it with stories like these in PNG? Why are Landowners always misinformed or short-sighted? Value your land, value your forests, streams and mountains.. it is almost always more valuable (for the locals) when left untouched
This is one of the many similar stories in PNG.. characters are the same. Loggers, police with guns and Landowners.. The problem is what is the government doing??
So sorry for these people..
Pea Piua New Gini is a nice place.
It's puzzled me that we don't have bursting tourism in that region so near to us
اللهم اهدني وعصاه الأنس والجن وكل الذريات ❤❤❤
A place few outsiders ever get to see, says the ABC. If you want to see the Sepik you can book a cruise or a holiday. Not the cheapest destination but well within the reach of the average Foreign Correspondent viewer.
Ol payim David liklik money na kisim planti log lo ples blem.. sore lem😓
The ancestors are welcome you into the Sepik when the engine cut off
The greed always!!
Sad! So sad!!! Hope they wont poison the people or environment! 🙏🙏🙏🫀🧠
Unfortunately you can’t have development and sustainability. Once you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile.
Yes, you are right. Once Nepal give a piece of land to Indian army in Kalapani to build post for few years to check Chinese government influence. Now, Indian army and Indian government claim and took over 10000 hectres of Nepal land of that areas intimidating with guns and geopolitical influence.
When you get logs from the Sepik River community then you have to be accountable to the Sepik people by bringing in development to all the Sepik people and not fill the stomachs of leaders only. I don't oppose development I just want all people to benefit from it because they depend on the river and the land for their livelihood.
Please leave this people alone , they don't need your dollar ........please leave them alone
30 years ago I was growing up among these people and was more often than not treated with such kindness. They have nothing but would give you everything they had to make you smile. God's children. Free West Papua . UN corruption , it had to have been. Indonesians had no history in Melanesia
NO NEED, TO BUILD ROAD JUST NEED TO BUILD BRIDGE TO PEOPLE TO CROSS OVER. ROAD CREATE MORE PROBLEM SUCH AS BLOCKAGE.
2 wives, 8 kids and no job. That’s absurd. I think that little community needs to face the reality of money. That woman with 25 grandchildren; no wonder they are annoyed; someone’s paying for their lifestyle involving them doing nothing but breeding. If the Papua New Guinea government is happy for them to do that, then fair enough. Maybe the Papua New Guinea government should explain to them about condoms. Maybe there should be free condoms sent out to all communities; this would be a good investment Papua New Guinea government.
I saw the pollution and contamination left in Tasmania from the Coppermine down there. It’s still a problem today. So unless the mining people have come up with a way of not polluting the environment; stand strong against them (and stop breeding).
There is already a project by the Colossus Biotech firm to recreate the Wooly Mammoth from 300,000 years ago by 2027! Project started in 2021 and it is thought to be a viable re-extinct species! So, yes, dinosaurs may not be too far off... so where will they live?
Keep mining out of it... Tell them... GO SOMEWHERE ELSE... Leave a little of this world untouched please... India wisely did it with that island
The Aussie woman's fake laugh when she felt nervous was unbearable.
I found her condescending to many of the locals.
No mining! Preserved the environment
Welcome to sepik river. If anyone comes first time to sepik river, the crocodiles out there won't chase you.🤝
This woman has my dream job
🕊🌎🕊🕊
So much violence...
It's not the second Amazon mate, it's the FIRST SEPIK 🙄
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❤🙏🇵🇬
Why dont they install solar? To control build a dam, they control control power and water, then they install a electricity meter and water meter, result is money power and greed.
kk
This region is one of our big Iraq-level coverups of involvement
50 thousand years and still spears how did the western world develop?
1 The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heavens always comes from Heaven through an angel while there is another gospel that comes from the abyss through pastoral school for God fills the heart while the devil fills the head. Remember how on April 24, 1993, the sound of his voice came into me and I fell dead. You see? It’s the devil that has instituted pastoral school. For, if I send someone to call my wife who is on a journey to the village, this messenger doesn’t have to receive any instruction from anyone. I am the only one who should tell him what to say to my wife and I know that she will believe him. [Ed: The congregation says, “Amen!”]. [Kc.2v3]
God visits the earth, when there is a living prophet messenger. God visited the past generations by Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Ezekiel.. And today, God visits the earth by the Prophet Kacou Philippe, messenger of matth 25v6 and apoc 12v14
Waste land